Prosecution rests in trial for D.C. man charged for one shotgun shell

From Emily Miller of the Washington Times:

The District of Columbia has finished presenting its case on why Mark Witaschek is a danger to society for possessing a single shotgun shell and muzzleloader sabots in his home. This outrageous legal battle shows how far unelected, anti-gun liberals will go to attempt to destroy a man’s life.

When Attorney General Irvin Nathan’s prosecutors rested on Tuesday, they established simply that Mr. Witaschek did not have a registered gun in the city, so he violated the firearms laws by having ammunition.

Mr. Witaschek has never denied these charges, but has said that he didn’t know that inoperable ammunition was illegal. He also insists that his constitutional rights have been violated.

“The police and attorney general obviously have infringed upon my Second Amendment right to keep arms, or ammunition, or even the muzzleloaders borne by our Founding Fathers,” the father of three told me. “And they trampled on almost every other amendment to the Bill of Rights not only for me, but my entire family.”

(Click here to read part one in the series about the police raid of Mr. Witaschek’s home.)

The Trial

Right before the trial began, Mr. Nathan’s office dropped the charge from possession of unregistered ammunition to attempted possession.

It’s unclear how Mr. Witaschek could attempt to possess something that was in his home, but the facts aren’t the reason for the shift. The lesser charge carries a penalty of six months in jail, which means Mr. Witaschek was not eligible for the jury trial he wanted.

So why is Mr. Nathan’s office so obsessed with this case? They are worried about being sued for the two warrant less raid of Mr. Witaschek’s home. It has been suggested that Mr. Witaschek use the David Gregory Defense.

The David Gregory Defense

Mr. Nathan is best known as the lenient prosecutor who let off NBC News’ David Gregory for openly and knowingly possessing an illegal 30-round magazine on live TV.

“Prosecutors determined that going after David Gregory for possession of an illegal ammunition magazine ‘would not promote public safety nor serve the best interests of the people of D.C.,’” Mr. Witaschek said, referring to the letter of explanation Mr. Nathan sent the lawyer for NBC and David Gregory.

“For my possession of a shotgun shell that misfired during a long ago hunt, why would that be any more of a danger to public safety?”

The prosecutors are claiming that they must continue this case because Mr. Nathan has been “accused of domestic violence.”

Character Defamation

The spokesman attempted to defame Mr. Witaschek’s character: “Are you aware of his history? That he threatened to kill his ex-wife, and she tried to get a protection order against him?”

Mr. Nathan’s ex-wife, Gabriella Landinez, told police in May 2012 that her estranged husband had unregistered firearms in the home, and he said that he said he would kill her on the phone one time.

The police never seemed to have investigated the matter. Mr. Witaschek denies ever having guns in D.C. and making a threat.

A temporary protection order was granted ex parte (without Mr. Witaschek answering the complaint.)

But in court, Judge Jose Lopez denied Ms. Landinez’s request for a civil protection order (CPO) (and financial support) in Aug. 2012, saying there was no evidence of a threatening phone call.

“There’s no history of violence in this family,” the judge said. “There is no history of that type of manipulation in this family to lead to any inference that he would have said that statement…”

Well, that explains it all, a bitter ex-wife makes a couple of false accusations about guns and the Anti-Gun zealots of DC Attorney General's office go crazy.